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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
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    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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      <title>Zero- and Reduced-Fare Transit Policy and Post-Pandemic Recovery: A Multi-Agency Analysis of Ridership, Service Supply, and Access</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2697838</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Despite growing interest in fare reduction as a policy lever, rigorous comparative evidence on its effects, particularly in the post-pandemic context, remains limited. In Virginia some 40 transit agencies eliminated fares for some period of time during the COVID pandemic, leading the Department of Rail and Public Transportation to ask how fare reduction or fare elimination have affected ridership, operations, and access for system users. This research addresses that question by developing a structured analytical framework and applying it to a sample of transit agencies in which Virginia properties are heavily represented. Using longitudinal data spanning years before and after the pandemic “lockdown”, the research compares agencies that adopted zero- and reduced-fare policies or means-tested fare-free programs against matched fare-collecting agencies. The analysis addresses three interrelated outcomes: ridership recovery trajectories, changes in service supply and scheduled speeds and headways, and shifts in access to employment and key destinations. For a representative subset of agencies, the study also conducts a network-level analysis of access to employment using Remix, a transit planning and scheduling software tool, for a selected set of agencies that represent a range of system sizes. Findings are intended to provide evidence-based guidance for Virginia transit agencies and other stakeholders considering fare policy as a tool for ridership recovery and service quality and performance.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 08:37:11 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2697838</guid>
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      <title>Mobility and Funding Assessment for the Expansion of Free and Reduced Fares</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2417473</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The aim of this project is to conduct an assessment for the expansion of free and reduced fares in Illinois’ public transit systems to increase transit ridership. Researchers will investigate the impact of existing free and reduced fare programs, assess potential expansion strategies and provide recommendations for improved equity and service efficiency. Effectively developing programs for the expansion of free and reduced transit fares will allow transit agencies to enhance their revenue streams as well as provide affordable fares.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 16 Aug 2024 09:23:05 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2417473</guid>
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      <title>Advancing Geofencing Functionality</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2062435</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) will receive funding to use GPS technology to enable free transit rides for passengers who use farecards and board at designated stops. Ridership and other data will inform future fare incentive programs, both in Rhode Island and nationally.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 15 Nov 2022 16:17:48 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2062435</guid>
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      <title>Full Evaluation of a Low-Income Transit Fare Pilot Program in DC</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1878016</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Low-income households are the most likely to be burdened by the costs of using public transit, the most likely to forego using transit due to cost, and the least likely to have alternative travel options. The cost burden of transit has a number of possible negative effects on low-income Washingtonians, including inhibiting their ability to get and maintain employment, use social services, obtain healthcare, and complete educational programs. Preliminary results from a low-income fare pilot in Boston showed a 30% boost in transit use by low-income households, including trips for health-care/social services visits. In addition, a 2011 experiment in DC found that even small transit subsidies offered to the unemployed increased job search activity by 19%, especially among those living far from employment opportunities.
To learn whether and to what extent cost is a key barrier to transit equity, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is partnering with The Lab @ DC, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), the DC Department of Energy and the Environment (DOEE), and the World Bank to conduct a randomized evaluation of a fully and partially subsidized Metro transit program. WMATA will create a discounted fare product that could be added to a SmarTrip card for eligible low-income individuals. DOEE will enroll participants from public utility assistance programs that already verify income and distribute income-based benefits as part of their standard business process.
In the study, participants will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: no transit subsidy, a partially subsidized fare, and a fully subsidized fare, i.e. free unlimited trips. The project will rely partly on administrative data, which will capture the high-level impacts on the number of trips taken, jobs applied to, job trainings completed, and employment status. ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 13 Sep 2021 14:50:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1878016</guid>
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      <title>Sustaining Zero-Fare Public Transit in a Post COVID-19 World: A Guide for State DOTs</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1854208</link>
      <description><![CDATA[NCHRP Research Report 1126: Sustaining Zero-Fare Public Transit in a Post COVID-19 World: A Guide for State DOTs provides a guide for the administration of zero-fare public transit services and a decision-support tool for state departments of transportation (DOTs) and other practitioners. A variety of zero-fare program scenarios were developed that explored relevant factors such as agency size, funding sources, modes or transit services operated fare-free, peak-hour capacity demands, fare recovery, regional services, service agreements, and fare dependence. The project outcomes provide a balanced analysis of benefits, costs, and other factors for any state DOT seeking to assist transit agencies in their plans to initiate, sustain, or terminate zero-fare transit programs.
Since fare-free transit services began in the early 1980s, they have operated in numerous forms, including in rural areas as small transit systems, at high-volume recreational venues such as stadiums, and at university campuses. Disbenefits, such as the loss of ticket revenue, occasionally overcrowded vehicles, and an increase in disruptive passengers, were offset by the value of increased ridership and levels of service, as well as a decrease in fare collection expenses. The COVID-19 pandemic imposed momentous changes on the public transit network, with decreased ridership that reflected the public health environment. Many agencies suspended fare collection in this context, with one rationale being the elimination of the passenger-tooperator ticket collection process. As transit operations continue to adapt and recover from the pandemic, the permanence of fare-free services is under consideration, with the evaluation of costs and benefits, level of service, and equity as key factors for implementation.
In NCHRP Project 19-19, "Sustaining Zero-Fare Public Transit in a Post COVID-19 World: A Guide for State DOTs", the Texas A&M Transportation Institute was asked to develop a guide for state DOTs and their partners on evaluating and implementing sustainable zero-fare transit. The scope of the guide was to consider (1) implementation of zero-fare transit in the United States, (2) the role of state DOTs in developing these policies, (3) supporting the transition from piloting to durable policy, (4) characteristics promoting the sustainability of zero-fare operations, (5) methods to evaluate the costs and benefits of zero-fare transit, (6) the development of a support tool for practitioners, and (7) the effective communication of results to stakeholders. The research determined that the viability of zero-fare transit depends on several factors, including the needs of the customer base, the relative prioritization of equity benefits, and the level of political and institutional support for such policies. Additional considerations for practitioners include the balance of operational savings, for example, by fare collection, compared to lost ridership revenue; potential second-order impacts affecting system volume and security; and the possibility of opting for partial instead of full zero-fare operations. 
NCHRP Research Report 1126 includes the guide and an appendix containing user instructions for the practitioners' tool. It is accompanied by a stand-alone conduct of research report that is available on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org) by searching for NCHRP Web-Only Document 409: Sustaining Zero-Fare Public Transit in a Post COVID-19 World: Conduct of Research Report. Also available are a downloadable version of the practitioners' tool and a technical memorandum outlining potential implementation avenues for state DOTs and other transportation agencies. These materials can be found on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org) by searching for NCHRP Research Report 1126: Sustaining Zero-Fare Public Transit in a Post COVID-19 World: A Guide for State DOTs. 
Publication Info
116 pages |  8.5 x 11 |  DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/27928]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 27 May 2021 16:35:32 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1854208</guid>
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      <title>Evaluation Framework for Fare-free Public Transportation</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1707192</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Communities around the world, including in the United States, are exploring the merits of providing public transportation without charging fares and identifying strategies for replacing passenger fare revenues. The economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits of fare-free public transportation are being weighed against the costs and benefits of current fare payment systems and the available capacity for increased ridership.    
 
Eight years ago, the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) conducted a state of the practice review that produced TCRP Synthesis 101: Implementation and Outcomes of Fare-Free Transit Systems.  More recently, consideration has emerged for the potential elimination of fare payments, in whole or in part, to engender broader societal benefits. Free Public Transit: And Why We Don’t Pay to Ride Elevators (2018) makes the case that addressing increasing societal inequalities and ecological crises should lead communities to rethink the status quo vis-a-vis public transit fares.
 
The objective of this research is to develop a framework to evaluate fare-free public transportation. The framework should address the benefits and costs and the trade-offs that must be considered by public transportation providers, policy-makers, and other stakeholders as they consider eliminating fares, in whole or in-part, for public transportation. 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2020 22:00:29 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1707192</guid>
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